http://untappedcities.com/2015/10/06/behind-the-scenes-in-hot-bread-kitchen-incubator-in-harlems-la-marqueta/

Greetings  friends of the noble wheat… bringing  back flavor and nutrients in good bread goes against the grain of the industrial complex economy which is about  HIGH YIELD, AFFORDABILITY AND CONVENIENCE..

If one is interested in varieties AND GREAT Flavors  of  wheat, as one can be interested in great old varieties and flavors of apples, one has to understand what happened to the heirloom wheats?  Wheats such as Einkhorn, emmer, Kamut and spelt and countless others. Each wheat has its own flavor, its own genetic make up, its own way of acting when mixed into bread.  How to bring these wheats back?

THE  PLOT in this amazing drama thickens and things are getting interesting.

Now  bakers are getting  together with millers, millers with farmers, farmers with plant breeders and geneticists.  They are all working on getting people turned on to tasting the real taste of wheat.. and this requires what many in the baking world refer to a new grain economy.

Dan Barber, a great chef and runs the center for food and agriculture in the Hudson Valley of New York, is currently growing old varieties with the help of plant biologist Stephen Jones.

“This is an agronomic problem.. It is a risky business for farmers.  We need to engage with the wheat plant breeders who can marry that old world genetics and take some of the best qualities of old wheat and improve it  to create a good yield so a farmer can actually make money growing old varieties.. ”

Here is  a fantastic link talking about the history of grain . http://bbc.in/1Ev9Wrd  and here is another link about an amateur baker in Southampton London:

http://www.londonfoodessentials.com/my-london-interviews-andy-forbes-brockwell-bake-association.html

We have  heard the nursery rhyme the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker  right?  What about the Miller…… the guy  who turns “sawdust into gold”  or makes the grain turn to edible flour. This is the story of the miller.

We hear a lot about the chefs and bakers (almost ridiculously hoisted up to super star status thanks to food network bozo-ness) but what about the Miller…. without the miller we would have no product..so then that lead me to wonder about The Mills… how does the milling process affect the flavor? Well some other folks wondered about that too and so now we have the phrase: A NEW GRAIN ECONOMY:  an economy that connects the miller to the farmer to the baker.  (just like them good old days) but now we have a demand for a far superior product (AT LEAST IN SILICON VALLEY LAND) because the affluence stirs the competition. You might have even heard of the $4 toast in san francisco. read here: http://www.businessinsider.com/we-tried-the-fancy-4-toast-san-francisco-is-going-crazy-for-2015-6

In 1790, Oliver Evans, an inventor from Delaware, was the third inventor to receive a patent from from the USA for his model of a roller mill.. no more muscle power!! This machine could use bucket elevators conveying devices, and a “hopper boy” a device that cooled and dried the meal before feeding it into the bolting cylinder. Wheat could now be taken from a boat, cleaned, ground, dried, cooled, sifted and packed without the need for a human operator.. This machine produced consistent cleaner finer flour.. The machine was expensive and most millers did not have a large enough volume of business to justify the expense of installing Evans invention…but eventually a few millers invested and George Washington even went to visit one of Evans Mills in Delaware and was so impressed, he ordered one for himself. As it turns out… drum roll please.. now that quantity was easier to supply, costs came down for the consumer and so more city dwellers were now buyers of bread rather than producers! But a funny thing happened on the way to the grocery store (sort a speak)

In 1817.. construction of the Erie Canal began.. Many wheat farmers acquired land along its path to use the water power for their roller mills, by the 1840’s there were 24,000 gristmills.. then steam power was introduced and steel rollers.. Mills no longer had to be located along the rivers and these new steel rollers reduced the cost of flour even further….these new steel rollers could grind hard wheat faster, removing the bran,germ and oil, then millers bleached the product making a white bright product and thereby (here is the advertisers famous mantra) EXTENDING THE SHELF LIFE!!!! and voila.. you got a mean, clean cheap flour with all nutrients and vitamins eviscerated.. WHOOPEE SHOUTS THE MONEY MAKERS…but as usual in American business making.. if something is making money… why cannot it make more and more and more money right? That’s why advertising is needed; to come up with words like “vast improvement” and “newer technology” “maximize efficiency” all translated: GREATER PROFITS. The story is old but still needs to be told. Large and efficient operations drove the small millers out of business and the result was the concentration of the milling industry into fewer and fewer hands. By 1900 there were only 13000 flour milling companies and by 2000, these were only 100 flour milling companies in the nation…so all of this background brings me to say that by wanting to learn how to bake; you have to begin to learn to taste.. by having to stop and taste, you want to know how to get the great flavor, by having to get great flavor, you have to know your products and where they come from and that is what people talk about when they talk about “that great loaf I used to get from my neighborhood in Detroit, Chicago, North Carolina, Brooklyn. I am here to say I am bringing back good flour grown here In Caliornia by a bunch of farmers in the Yolo county and milled by Joseph Vanderliet: Here is a passage about him from Edible East Bay magazine from Oakland, California.

NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE:

Joe is Joseph Vanderliet. Certified Foods is a small flour mill five minutes away from Cooper’s Woodland office. In many ways, this mill is the heart of the local grain movement. When I ask why 90 percent of his flour is milled from California grain, Vanderliet replies simply, “Why should we go out of state, if California wheat performs? Why spend the money on freight?”

Established in 1992, Certified Foods markets its own flour blends under the “Joseph’s Best” label, while also grinding grain for distributors like Bob Klein’s Community Grains and for individual farmers such as Rominger Brothers, who recently delivered half a pallet of durum to be milled for pasta. Certified Foods links farmers to bakers and works to preserve the identity of each variety of wheat, something that Cooper, Klein, and Rominger all see as crucial for the market success of local heritage wheat.

Klein credits Vanderliet’s milling skill as key to transforming California wheat into high-quality flour. Not only is Vanderliet’s mill small enough that he can finesse the best out of each variety, but he also uses a unique combination of grindstones and steel rollers. With these, he carefully grinds whole-grain flour in a way that preserves its nutritional value, while creating a product that behaves much like white flour. Though he is reluctant to go into the details of his operation, he does say, “We are in a moment of transition. We are in the middle of a renaissance in milling.”

Vanderliet began his career in the Midwest as a grain buyer for Archer Daniels Midland, and has attended both baking and brewing schools. Eventually, he located in Oakland, opening what was then the country’s most advanced flour mill. He soon grew frustrated by how many nutrients were lost in conventional milling, where the only goal seemed to be to produce the whitest of flour.

To emphasize his point, he holds up two bar graphs: The first charts the nutrients left in refined flour; the second is a list of the major micronutrient deficiencies in the USA. They could be pieces of the same puzzle. It is no secret how the removal of the bran and germ, along with the heat of the rollers, robs the wheat of its vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty oils. “Our addiction to refined flour is a major health crisis,” the miller says, “and is something I aim to resolve in my lifetime.”

Good to his word, Vanderliet’s Certified Foods is certified organic and grinds only whole-grain flour. Still reluctant to give any secrets away, he tells me that an important step is ensuring that the wheat is in good condition. “We only use wheat that could be planted in the ground and produce two leaves and a split root,” he says, using his broad hands for emphasis. “If it’s going to be food,” he concludes, “you want it to be alive.”

Leaving Vanderliet’s office in the late autumn afternoon, I am reminded of two things. The first is Bob Klein’s musing back in August of the meaning of eating locally. “What is the issue?” he asked rhetorically. “Is it about organic? Better tasting food? Leaving a smaller carbon footprint? For me, it’s ‘I know a guy who is a farmer, and he knows a guys who’s a miller, then someone else knows someone who is a baker . . . ’ and on and on. It’s about making connections, passing along valuable information, and building community.” The second thing to cross my mind is the thought that, not too long ago, and in nearly every community, the farmer, the miller, and the baker formed a triad that was in large part responsible for the health of the community. •

I have now baked hundreds of loaves and believe it or not I still cannot wait to bake the next one…. “the next one” is always my favorite one. It is the one coming right out of the oven.. it is the one I get t0 inspect for hollow sound; check, good color: check, nice score on top: check, good crumb texture; check, and above all else.. how does it taste? Well I have all of you grainiacs now to keep tasting, keep asking questions about the bread baked by your local baker and milled by the miller up the road.. and that’s enough grist for your mill today folks.. oh and by the way.. the mill near where George Washinton built his home is the only Evans mill left in the united states

“ACORNS WERE GOOD UNTIL GOOD BREAD WAS FOUND.”
francis bacon.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/a-long-way-from-wonder-bread/

HEAR YE… HEAR YE…

On the last friday of every month… so tomorrow is the first one.. we have a new pick up site for seaside and Monterey residents.. It is 695 Hamilton seaside and its the home of  Mark Gibbs and family.  He has been kind enough to allow me to set my basket of highlands bread-of-the-month there BETWEEN 3 AND 6 PM!!!  I will have bread there for sure.. As you all know, July bread is from the Della Fattoria family in Petaluma.. rosemary meyer lemon garlic.. great with dry jack or asiago and you might even try a jam with it.. go crazy.. 

If you owe me money, there will be an envelope outside and just sign your name that you were there to pick up.. that is all the instructions.. oh yes.. Mark has been kind enough to give you his cell phone in case you need to be late for pick up or your car got stuck, or your baby is teething, or your boyfriend dumped you… or or or or…

mark cell phone:  277 6094

For those who live in carmel: Pick up is this sunday the 2nd of August at the BAKERY IN THE HIGHLANDS..  Pick up anytime between 1 and 7… Just come on in and pick up…. and you can leave me money in envelope also if you owe me anything… thanks for supporting what I think are some of the best breads from some of the best bakers in America!

I will be featuring a bread every month from some of the best bakeries and I will tell you a little about them…… onward and upward far from the land of wonderbread into the land of REAL CRUST AND REAL CRUMB…

love, anina

: GE News: Glyphosate damages DNA, says World Health Organisation expert – aninamar12@gmail.com – Gmail

via Fwd: GE News: Glyphosate damages DNA, says World Health Organisation expert – aninamar12@gmail.com – Gmail.

All you eat-good-bread lovers…. The bakery is revving up for the bread originating from Della Fattoria bakery in Petaluma.    The bakery, owned by Kathleen and Ed weber since 1995, is attached to their family ranch on the north side of Petaluma.  “Della Fattoria” means ‘of the farm’ They got started by schlepping their loaves in a ’78 Volvo station wagon to Thomas Keller (the great gourmand of French Laundry)  and he loved them!  All the breads are wood fire baked and says Kathleen they “grew our of an obsessive quest” for lost tradition.. One of  my favorite breads they make is this one. It is blends two tried and true flavors with nuttiness and slightly sour.. Please visit the websitewww.dellafattoria.com Its a true family affair.

eat.good.bread.

I have come upon the three year mark of Ye Olde Highlands Bakery Shoppe and so I will start with a celebration in verse called THE 12 DAYS OF BAKING..

On the first day of baking, I went out to find; a big badass  bread baking book.

On the second day of baking, I went out to buy ten pounds of All purpose King Arthur baking flour.

On the third day of baking, I set out to make the elusive, wondrous, home made sour starter.

On the fourth day of baking, I did the watchful waiting of that slowly bubbling, long fermenting sour.

On the fifth day of baking, I learned a lot of words: levain, batard and enzymatic action.

On the sixth day of baking,  I got my hands in deep: to mix, stretch and fold and shape the dough.

ON the seventh day of baking,    I learned about the “score……” how to slash and strike the tops without deflating.

On the eighth day of baking, I had to make the steam; to capture a bronzish, reddish golden crusted finish!

On the ninth day of baking,  I thought I might get burned; upon throwing ice cubes on a preheated pan.

On the tenth day of baking, I could not believe my eyes;   the ascent of the loaf, the spring.. its mighty rise!

On the 11th day of baking, the smells of this fine bread; set off the sweetest chemicals in my head…

On the 12th day of baking.. the slice complete with slathered butter tells the end of this bread story… and I will now and forever  declare my praise to GLUTENS GLORY!

My praise to glutens glory, sweet chemicals in my head, the spring its mighty rise, throwing ice cubes on heated pan, golden crusted finish, the tops without deflating, stretch and folding, shaping and

FINE ENZYMATIC ACTION!!!!

long fermenting sour, slow sourdough  simmering, all purpose baking flour and one BADASS BIG OL BAKING BOOK……….

Before I tell you what  is new with the Highlands Bakery, I want to quote from a great book by Andrew Whitley www.breadmatters.com/  He sums a lot up in this paragraph:

“Most of us are rather amazed that mixing flour, yeast and water produces dough that rises and can be baked into light textured bread. But this is only half the story. While yeast turns sugars released from the flour by enzymes into carbon dioxide and alcohol, lactic acid bacteria are the thrifty housekeepers.  Not only do they not compete with yeast directly for food, relying on different sugars for their sustenance, but they coexist  in a more active way.  Lactic acid bacteria use amino acids and peptides generated by yeasts and in turn enable the yeasts to produce more carbon dioxide, as well as making gluten more  elastic. These modest functional effects are disdained in high tech world of chemical additives and bread improvers. But lactic acid bacteria can do much more than make stretchier dough.  They can transform this dough into healthy food by

1. enhancing nutritional properties
2. making nutrients “bioavailable”
3. lowering its glycemic index
4. controlling potential spoilage organismsneutralizing the parts of gluten that are harmful to people with celiac disease and other wheat allergies.

and so now with all this in mind.. I  will simplify a little   bit the way this operation works.  I will bake ONCE A MONTH and the bread will be available to pick up at my house and also at another pick up site that I am still looking for.  I will send out an email a week before  I bake to find out how many loaves I will be  baking..   Loaves  will be available to pick up  at my house on the first  sunday of every month from 1:00 to 7:00(or whatever works)  so the first loaves will be on SUNDAY AUG 2ND AND I KNOW IT  WILL BE: ROASTED GARLIC AND MEYER LEMON SOURDOUGH…   You can just leave    $5 here after you collect your bread;  this makes it all much simpler for me…. so tell me what you all think of this and remember what the great baker Lionel Polaine said:              “Making bread strikes a mysteriously prehistoric chord somewhere inside us…alongside  the mental satisfaction, you discover new and different gastronomic pleasures that enrich  you and those around you.”

Best to us all, anina